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Understand?Īlfred: Yes of course - I promise to watch your bread. When the loaves are ready be sure to take them out. Woman: Hey! Make yourself useful! Keep an eye on the stove. Alfred was disguised as a poor man so that she had no idea the King was living in her house. It was said that for many weeks he stayed in the house of an old woman. Years later a story was told of the time when Alfred was in hiding. Narrator: Alfred escaped from the Vikings and with a small group of followers, hid in a village surrounded by marshes. Thane: Sire, please! We need you to live.to lead us to fight another day! The Vikings left Wessex in peace but then in 878 the Viking leader - Guthrum - launched a surprise attack on Alfred.įX: Sounds of battle, horses, cries of men, clash of metal on metalĪlfred: No, I will fight and die here alongside my soldiers. They agreed not to attack Wessex in return for money.
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Narrator: And ‘buy time’ is exactly what Alfred did. We are outnumbered.Īlfred: Time if only we had a bit more time to gather our strength. Thane: But sire - they are stronger than us, they have better weapons. Thane: King Alfred, the Vikings are advancing again. The greatest challenge the young king faced came from the Vikings, who had invaded in the north and were moving south… Narrator: Alfred was in his early 20s when he became king and although it was true that he was often ill, he certainly wasn’t ‘weak’. Voice 3: We must have kings who can read as well as lead us into battle! Our new king should be Alfred!įX: Other voices ‘I am for Alfred’ / ‘Alfred for king!’ etc He would prefer to spend his time reading books than preparing for battle! Voice 1: Alfred has fought bravely in battle. Voice 2: Some days he is so ill he cannot ride his horse. Voice 3: It is true that Alfred is often ill, but he is not weak. Voice 2: Not Alfred, Alfred is weak! He’s always ill. Voice 1: And who, my lord, would you suggest? Voice 3: But Aethelwald is young, no more than a boy. Voice 2: I propose Ethelred’s eldest son, Aethelwald! He’s the obvious choice! Voice 1: My lords! Ethelred is dead and we are still at war with the Viking invaders. Ethelred - king of the Anglo-Saxon land of Wessex – has died fighting the Viking invaders. Helped me make decisions, gave me good advice. I translated books from Latin into English Then I paid them Danegeld to keep the peaceĪs a scholar, you’d say I was distinguished I fought with the Vikings for many a year When you hear me coming play a big fanfare! And fought with the Vikings from over the sea.